The most abundant organic compound on earth is carbohydrates. The lignocellulosic biomass is composed of carbohydrate polymers—cellulose and hemicelluloses and an aromatic polymer, lignin. Bioconversion of this renewable lignocellulosic biomass generates sugar and fermentation of these sugars leads to the production of many commercially valuable end products such as biofuels.
There are two basic steps for the conversion of cellulose to ethanol, first is the hydrolysis of the cellulose molecules to sugars and second is the fermentation of these sugars to ethanol. Many microorganisms in nature, secretes enzymes that are able to hydrolyse cellulose.
The quest for cheaper and better enzymes needed for the efficient hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass has placed fungi in the limelight for bioprospecting research, either for the discovery of novel fungi and/or fungal enzymes. The efficiency of filamentous fungi as key players in carbon recycling in nature has placed them in the spotlight as potential sources of enzymes for converting recalcitrant lignocellulosic materials into precursors for industrial purposes. With an estimated 5.1 million species, they represent an unending pool for potential sources of cellulase producers with novel applications. The recent upward trend in the commercial launch of biorefineries that use lignocellulosic biomass as a source of sugars for advanced biofuel production is a testament. Several fungi have been reported with proven abilities to produce lignocellulosic enzymes; with the mutant strains of the fungus Trichoderma reesei dominating the industrial arena as the workhorse for the production of cellulases.
Recent insights about its genome however, have revealed an unexpectedly poor collection of genes and enzymes associated with biomass degradation when compared with other fungi having the ability to degrade biomass; underscoring the need to explore alternatives and/or complements. In addition, there are several reports of enzymes cocktails from different fungi outperforming enzyme preparations from T. reesei in the hydrolysis of biomass when applied at equal enzyme loadings, while some other reports complementary performance (synergism). However, the main obstacle in designing cost effective lignocellulolytic enzyme cocktail is the lack of knowledge on total enzyme inventory and exact molar concentration of each individual cellulolytic protein secreted by lignocellulose degrading microbial species. An understanding of the qualitative and quantitative composition of fungal secretome, the complex interactions of the various enzyme types and kinetic expression profiles will allow for the establishment of efficient in vitro lignocellulose utilization processes. Comprehending the enzymatic apparatus of cellulolytic strains, with a focus on achieving better efficiency thus, is a key biotechnological bottleneck to be overcome before the production of liquid biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass becomes a commercial reality.
In this regards, the mass spectrometric based proteomic analysis of the secretome serves as a valuable tool in the discovery of new enzymes or interesting enzyme complexes associated with improved lignocellulose deconstruction. While the advances in mass spectrometry based proteomics machines and methods continually aids in elucidating the biological roles of protein players in several biological process, it focuses more on the description of carbohydrate active proteins and accessory components involved in the degradation of plant cell wall polysaccharides in cellulolytic fungi.
EP1511848 discloses a method for degrading lignocellulose to sugars. This patent discloses Composition comprising novel enzyme mixtures that can be used directly on lignocelluloses substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,318,461 discloses a process for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to produce a hydrolysis product comprising glucose from a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock and enzymes for use in the process.
US20100273217 discloses a method for treating biomass. It discloses an enzyme mixture obtained from Penicillium funiculosum. 
US20110250652 discloses a process which is based on the microbial production of enzymes from the growth of the fungus Penicillium funiculosum in a suitable culture medium with a cellulosic substrate.
There is a continuous need to search for new enzymes or enzyme mixtures, which enhance the efficiency of the degradation of the cellulosic biomass. Most of the fungi from the culture collection had been previously identified and designated as having potentials for the production of cellulases. However their classification had been based on the enzyme profiling and activity using cellulase mono components, but the performance on active biomass was hardly evaluated for majority of them. The present invention provides a strategy to incorporate the respective fungi performance on model substrates with observed activity on heterogeneous substrates and the secretome obtained from the most performing fungus of the present invention is analysed to get an in depth understanding of the enzymes sets secreted by the fungus, their abundance as well as their how they interact with each other to bring about effective biomass deconstruction.